Col. George ‘Bud’ Day, McCain’s cellmate in POW camp, dies at 88

Col. Bud Day, who earned 50 combat medals including a Medal of Honor, was credited as the man who saved Sen. John McCain’s life while the two were Prisoners of War. “Bud … wouldn’t let me die,” McCain said. “To witness him sing the national anthem in response to having a rifle pointed at his face -- well, that was something to behold.” NBC’s Brian Williams reports.

Military

This content comes from Closed Captioning that was broadcast along with this program.

>>>this nation lost one of its most deckated warriors over the weekend, buday of
south dakota
. for starters he served in three wars,
world war ii
, korea and vietnam where he volunteered for duty. shot down over
north vietnam
, wounded and captured, escaped and captured again. he was thrown in the
hanoi hilton
as a p.o.w. where he was tortured on and off for over five years. his cellmate for a time was a naval of aicator named
john mccain
. he was a midwesterner through and through and proud of it. about his boyhood home on the plains he once told
tom brokaw
if you wanted a warrior, this was the place to find them. foremost among his 50 combat medals, buday was awarded the
medal of honor
but
president gerald ford
. his death leaves 78 recipients of the
medal of honor
. next month the president will award the medal to a veteran of the
war in afghanistan
.